Local advocates want to take Tobacco 21 fight to state

A group of local health professionals hope to spark conversations and convince local governments to raise tobacco-buying age in the six metro cities.
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People hold signs in opposition to a proposed tobacco ordinance Monday, Nov. 6, before the start of the St. Cloud City Council meeting at city hall. (Photo: Dave Schwarz, dschwarz@stcloudtimes.com)Buy Photo

When St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis vetoed an ordinance amendment last month that would have raised the tobacco-buying age to 21 in St. Cloud — after the City Council passed the amendment on a 4-3 vote — St. Cloud resident Tamara Jett was disappointed.

"I wish St. Cloud could have joined the ranks to lead the way," she said, referring to other cities that passed similar ordinances. "I'd love nothing more than to see St. Cloud be a leader in this."

Despite the discouragement, Jett — along with state and national advocacy groups — are working to bring the movement to the state level.

Their effort got a boost Monday when St. Cloud City Council passed a measure recommending the Legislature raise the tobacco-buying age to 21. It passed on a 4-3 vote.

Jett is an ambassador for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the lobbying arm of the society. She and other volunteers are pushing for the state to raise the legal tobacco-buying age from 18 to 21.

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Children speak during a public hearing on a proposed vote on raising the age to purchase tobacco to 21 Monday, Nov. 6, during the St. Cloud City Council meeting at City Hall.(Photo: Dave Schwarz, dschwarz@stcloudtimes.com)

Advocacy groups, including ACS Cancer Action Network, are working with state leaders on both sides of the aisle to pass legislation. Last May, Sen. Carla Nelson, R-Rochester, introduced a bill to boost the tobacco-buying age to 21. The bill is co-authored by Democrats.

The ACS Cancer Action Network is also working with representatives to introduce a House version this session, according to Ellie Beaver, Minnesota government relations director for ACS Cancer Action Network.

"We've seen momentum in the state this year in local cities like Edina, St. Louis Park, Bloomington and Plymouth. Of course, if a statewide law passes, cities don't have to worry about passing their own ordinances," Beaver said.

Beaver said advocates have realistic expectations about a statewide law passing this session because it is a short session with elections looming. She said advocates are eager to get the chance to speak at hearings on the topic.

"We would love to see it get a hearing so we can make the case to the Legislature and publicly talk about why it is so important to raise the minimum age to prevent kids from using tobacco products," she said.

The City Council's resolution recommending that the state raise the minimum legal sales age sends a message to state and local leaders. The vote followed the same lines as the previous vote on the amendment — Council President Carol Lewis and council members George Hontos, Dave Masters and Steve Laraway voted in favor of it.

Lewis introduced the resolution at the Dec. 4 meeting, but the council tabled it to allow more time for consideration. Lewis drafted the resolution because she felt that although three council members were not in favor of implementing the amendment at the local level, they agreed with the reasoning behind raising the legal age.

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St. Cloud Mayor Kleis explains his plans to veto a city council vote that would have made the legal sales age for tobacco 21 Monday, Nov. 6, during the St. Cloud City Council meeting at city hall. (Photo: Dave Schwarz, dschwarz@stcloudtimes.com)

At the Nov. 6 meeting, council members Jeff Johnson, Jeff Goerger and John Libert all said they understood the health consequences of smoking and support movements to reduce youth smoking, but agreed it wasn't the city's place to change the tobacco-buying age.

Both the city's failed ordinance amendment and statewide bills propose making it illegal for people younger than 21 to purchase tobacco, but do not restrict the possession or use of tobacco products by people 18 and older.

Kleis vetoed the amendment because he said it contradicts the U.S. Constitution, which establishes 18 as the age of maturity. He said Monday he intents to write a proclamation to legislators to show his opposition to the City Council's opinion.

"Eight elected officials voted on it. Four were four it, four against it," Kleis said, speaking of the seven City Council votes and his voice as mayor.

Beaver said Tobacco 21 is a bipartisan issue generally supported by the public. Three of four adult Americans favor raising the tobacco-buying age to 21, according to Minnesotans for a Smoke-Free Generation.

Anti-tobacco advocates in Minnesota have been trying to reduce tobacco use among youths for decades. In the 1990s. the state sued Philip Morris and ultimately earned a massive settlement; tobacco companies were also ordered to stop targeting kids, bring down billboards, discontinue branded merchandise for children and end paid product placement in movies.

"From there, those efforts cascaded across the state to other counties, and finally a statewide law was passed in 2007," Beaver said.

In 2016, the state raised taxes on tobacco to further discourage youths and adults from smoking.

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People in support of a proposed tobacco ordinance wear matching t-shirts Monday, Nov. 6, during the St. Cloud City Council meeting at city hall. (Photo: Dave Schwarz, dschwarz@stcloudtimes.com)

Today, Minnesota ranks 10th nationwide in funding for programs that work to keep kids from smoking, according to a report released last week by public health organizations including the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, ACS Cancer Action network, American Heart Association and American Lung Association.

According to the report, tobacco companies spend about $110.5 million each year to market their products in Minnesota. The state spends about one-fifth of that each year on tobacco prevention and cessation programs. The state expects to collect about $739 million in revenue from the 1998 tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes, and plans to spend about 3 percent of that on tobacco prevention programs.

Advocates urge the state to spend more on tobacco prevention and cessation programs. Studies show about 10.6 percent of high school students smoke, and 2,500 children become regular smokers each year.

Tobacco 21 advocates argue 18- to 20-year-olds purchase only about 2 percent of the cigarettes sold, but supply 90 percent of tobacco to children; 95 percent of smokers begin before the age of 21.

Each year, tobacco claims nearly 6,000 Minnesota lives and costs the state approximately $2.5 billion in health care bills annually, the report states.

While advocates say raising the tobacco-buying age is important to reduce youth smoking, it is only one strategy.

"T21 doesn't function in a vacuum. We also need to be part of a more comprehensive strategy," Beaver said. "Raising the age of sale is one tactic in an overall movement to reduce use among young people."

Jett agrees, and spends much of her nearly 400 annual volunteer hours helping coordinate events such as Relay for Life, talking with local representatives and helping others volunteer.

She gives so much time to anti-tobacco efforts because, like many, cancer affects her personally. Her father is a 17-year cancer survivor; her mother — who started smoking as a teenager — has lung cancer.

"As a caregiver, I felt really helpless," she said. "I felt like I had to do something bigger. American Cancer Society offers me a vessel to help in any way, shape or form that I can."

Jett said is pleased the topic is getting some attention.

"I'm always grateful that there was a platform and that it is something that was up for discussion," she said. "It was hopeful to see people passionate about it on both sides of the issue."